There are only thirty days left in the year now, and still plenty of sets to be reviewed. As readers of My Blog already know, today we cross another set off that list. BZPower Forum Assistant and Reference Keeper Electric Turahk has been kind enough to write up a review of the Walmart Exclusive Toa Lesovikk. So read on to see what he thinks of this mighty Toa.

I can proudly say that I am the one non-LEGO employee to have known what Lesovikk looks like for the longest period of time. However, looks can often be very deceiving, but is that the case here? I present to you today my opinion on this Air Toa, Lesovikk, and that interesting Sea Sled of his.

PresentationFrom the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

When walking down the construction set aisle in your local store (Wal*Mart in particular for those of you who live in the United States), is it easy to overlook the Lesovikk set? I tend to think not.

Not only is there a large central image of the Toa on his vehicle, but there is also a big reminder in the corner that this is a special edition set. Also, who could miss the bright gold sides of the box? In addition to that, it’s quite wide, taking up a good bit of shelf room, furthering bringing ones eyes to it. I personally believe that the designers did a pretty fair job at attracting attention to this set. I would find it hard for someone to not want this set after seeing the Toa speeding through the water on his sled. It is quite an attractive and impressive spread, and the pose is a nice change from the battle poses in the other large sets this year.

The back of the box features an enlarged version of the picture in the corner of the front. Included is a display of the set’s features, and how to use them: the landing gear, the light-up eyes, and the Cordak Blaster. The gold trim is continued from the sides of the box onto the box, creating a nice border for it all. Along the right side of the bock is a display of the Toa Mahri.

Upon opening the box, one is presented with the very typical spread of a boxed set: an instruction booklet, bags of parts, and a few larger, loose parts. The instruction booklet art is just the same as the box art, so nothing new there. Of note in the instructions is a list of parts – a very helpful index indeed to see if you’re missing any parts, or to order replacements (Especially with Lesovikk; more on that later, though.).

BuildingHalf the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

Lesovikk himself is quite simple to build. He is just like any other bipedal canister-size set in the past two years. And I hate that. The standard canister set is a large chunky torso, Metru hips, and four standard size limbs. By standard, I mean a long double-sided socket joint always makes up the upper half of limbs (sometimes a short one is used, though), and the lower half is either a Vahki or Toa Metru leg. Yes, a few unique elements are sometimes inserted, such as armor, but the basic structure stays the same. It just gets so boring building the same design multiple times.

The Sea Sled, on the other hand, invites a new and unique build, and yet is simple and none too challenging, but its individuality from all of those canister set makes it quite fun to build. But, in essence, the Sea Sled is nothing more than a stick with legs. The only thing that gives the Sea Sled any bulk are the Toa Mahri tools (which are its only new parts to boot) incorporated in it.

Set DesignNow that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

As I mentioned before, the Toa Mahri tools are what gives the Sea Sled’s it bulk. However, they are just slapped on and aren’t really integrated into the design, and I find that quite disappointing. Though the weapons are what you see when looking at the set, and I think it still looks pretty cool.

I feel that if you just forget about how simple the build is, the Sea Sled looks quite impressive. At least, as much as a sled can be impressive. It doesn’t have the gargantuan powerhouse look that the Ussanui had, but it’s still pretty nice for a vehicle. And it’s the first since the Ussanui too, so that’s a plus. The Cordak Blaster does take away from its appeal, though, for it just sticks out the top. However, this set up is much more preferred over Lesovikk carrying it. The clunky blasters look rather bad on the Toa… As far as the ammo goes, the spars are not placed on Lesovikk, as they are placed on other characters, but on the Sea Sled. One is placed in the axle hole for the Cordak Blaster. I like the way this one looks like a scope of sorts. It doesn’t detract from the sled’s visual appeal, but it may fall of, so can be a tad annoying. The other two are placed in the black/silver Carapar armor. You can’t really see them when Lesovikk is on the sled, but when he’s not, they do look rather odd.

The Toa Mahri tools that are on the Sea Sled are quite a versatile bunch. This is certainly a plus for all those MOCers out there. It also has on it a black and silver version of Carapar’s chest armor, as seen on Mantax.

Lesovikk features a design quite common this year that I absolutely hate. His torso is a reversed Piraka torso. That is, his head and limbs are facing the opposite direction than they did on the Piraka. Why? is all I have to say. I see no reason why that had to be done. It looks horrible with all the holes and openness. The Lesovikk set at least tries to rectify this where others did not, by placing the Nuparu Inika claw on the front, but it doesn’t help too much. And the claw looks rather awkward as armor.

Speaking of armor, Lesovikk also features something else that has returned this year: shoulder armor. I love these pieces, and they’re attached so as to not hinder arm movement, though can become annoying when you start moving Lesovikk around and they flap all over the place.

Lesovikk does possess some rather nice lime green pieces, and even has a couple of the wonderful dark green Toa Inika armor; though none of them are explicitly new. The only other new parts on Lesovikk are his lime green Faxon, the blue visor, and his silver Shark Tooth Blade. However, these are all used on other sets, and thus there is still no unique element to Lesovikk’s build.

PlayabilityThe other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

This set brings about the return of some form of function, as minuscule as it may be. Lesovikk’s Sea Sled has retractable landing gear, built exactly like Nidhiki’s legs. So, the sled can be set down on a flat surface without tilting to one side, and, for you role-players out there, can be swung through the air without any annoying appendages getting in the way. It also looks great in a pose on a shelf with the landing gear down.

The Cordak Blaster is loved by many, but also probably just as hated. I can assure you that you will have fun firing this thing at targets – targets that will actually knock down, because this thing’s got some power behind it. However, its cumbersome size doesn’t fit in with the set. It’s obvious that it was included solely for the purpose of being taken off and used by a person, with, at least in my eyes, little respect given to how it looks in a set. But, hey, it’s fun.

As I said before, Lesovikk is just like all other bipeds; he too has 13 points of articulation like most sets these days. So, there should be little trouble posing him. The tube can restrict how far you can turn his head, though. And because of the armor on the arms, the shoulder pads stick up if you try to cross one of the arms across his body. But beyond that, there are no problems.

Final ThoughtsOnce it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

I adore the Lesovikk set. However, it’s got quite the price tag. And though Lesovikk may seem quite small, and his sled doesn’t appear to have too many pieces on it, the set really only has roughly 20 less pieces than some of the other Titan sets of the same price. So in that sense, I would say he’s worth it. The unique aspect of this set – its sled – also makes it worth the price in my eyes. Remember, you’re getting two sets here, not just one. But, there are those who will argue that it is too much.

Now, I cannot conclude the review without at least mentioning the problem with the lime green joints… From what I heard, a large batch of them was cooled too quickly, thus creating brittle parts. And, boy, are they brittle. All but two or three broke on my Lesovikk and Hahli. They may be fine the first time you attach them to something, but then as soon as you try and remove them or put them back on, *SNAP* and you’ve got a broken piece. It is quite frustrating to have this happen. Luckily, LEGO provides free replacements. (Well, they did for me… And I ordered twenty parts. Ten of the double sockets, and ten of the single.)

ProsWhat's to like?

The Cordak Blaster is pretty fun to play with.

You get two sets.

A few parts in new colors.

Finally another vehicle.

ConsWhat's not to like?

Lime green pieces break too easily.

The price may be seen as too high to some.

Lesovikk has a cliché set design.

Personally, I love Lesovikk. He’s one of my favorite sets this year, particularly because of his sled. It’s certainly one of the more unique sets this year. You are entitled to disagree with me, but I would still highly recommend purchasing this set.

Be sure to thank Electric Turahk for taking the time to write this review, and for waiting for replacement parts to arrive so he could do it! Keep checking back for new 2007 set reviews and of course the latest Bionicle news!